C-Pen value? 45.3 - 31

[rosada]

My 8 year old grandson is dyslexic and I am wondering if a C-Pen would be helpful. A C-Pen is a tool that reads for you. You trace over the lines in a book and it then can say the lines out loud. It is pricey ($250!) but if it helps him I would be happy to get it for him. So I asked the I Ching what his experience would be, would it be worth it? I got 45.3 - 31.

45.3
Now gathering, now lamenting
No direction bears fruit.
Going on, no mistake. Small shame.

The line talks about wanting to be a member of a group and I see this as his frustration in wanting to keep up with his classmates, there being nothing he can do but keep struggling on and possibly 31 meaning the pen would be a helpful influence but I could also see "No direction bears fruit" as meaning it wouldn't. Or maybe "No direction bears fruit" just means how it is right now without the pen.
I so want this pen to help I am not able to be objective! Anyone have any ideas?

 

[breakmov]

Hi Rosada,

I see it this way:


Hex 45 talks about a gathering . This gathering is special because it aims at a "unity/objective" with something above all its members.
I would say that this group(45), focusing on something superior to them, would be the group concerned with the subject of dyslexia.
Line 3 shows that the path to follow in this gathering should be free of extras, anything that is foreign to the spirit of the gathering.
In the particular case, I would say that C-Pen would be just a crutch that would do nothing to help your grandson's dyslexia. Notice that "the solution" to dyslexia is "precisely" the systematic and continuous training of reading and not a crutch that makes life easier for your grandchild.


Cheers,

breakmov

 

[my_key]

Hi Rosada

So I asked the I Ching what his experience would be, would it be worth it? I got 45.3 - 31.

His experience with th C-pen would be 'Bringing Together' through 'Mutual Influence'.
For him the overall experience (context) would be one of stimulation, excitement and one that would influence him (31). However, the caveat here would be what 45 throws into the sea. The basis of 45 is bringing people together and an idea of strong personal leadership having a role to play in things. With the words of 45.3 ringing out there is an indication that his experience with the C-pen, and what becomes associated with it for him, will not be perfect. There will be something that perhaps brings regrets (sigh!) with it as once he has it "no direction bears fruit". NB - You ask about his experience with the pen so I don't think this applies to his situation without it.

The superior man renews his weapons in order to meet the unforeseen (Wilhelm). So maybe he is first going to see it as a great learning toy but later will change his views on it when it doesn't give him all he was expecting of it. 45.3 - has a feel of stepping away from other people and from things that will support the real you. (There's that sigh again!) Just a part of his learning process. Maybe he is not mature enough at 8 to fully appreciate the benefits it can offer and experiences it, physically or in his mind, at the expense of other routes to developing living with dyslexia.

Finally, the nuclear of 53 Gradual Progress is there in the background so how he experiences it with change and grow over time. This I think lies behind the short term line comment that " no direction bears fruit". This is a slow ripening fruit tree.

Is it worth it? Clearly he will experience some benefits (53) however, how it influences him and how he interacts with it are going to have positive and negative implications for him as a person. Maybe he is not going to see the big picture right away and at the end of it all he is still going to to have to join up all the dots for himself anyway.

....or maybe it's nothing like this at all.

My knowledge of dyslexia is limited, only really that it is caused by the brain being wired differently from birth. From my understanding, learning to read words is only one small part of the difficulties that a person has to overcome in life because of it. It's wonderful to hear that your grandson has been diagnosed so early, this is a real bonus for him, and that he has supportive grandparents to help him - a real real bonus!

Good Luck

 

[rosada]

Thank you both so much for your thoughtful consideration of my question. Somehow just asking others to look at the hexagrams too helps one calm down and see the situation more clearly. Many things about this answer now start to make sense for me - most particularly I am seeing the line could apply to me in that I am "lamenting" and would like to be closer to my kids, part of the "gathering" and may be considering this purchase as a means to get them to include grandma more (one of the problems of raising strong independent kids - they turn out to be strong and independent). However, the question was about the grandson's experience so...
Anyway, I think you are on to something breakmov when you see 45.3 as saying the path should be "free of extras". I don't think the problem is so much that the tool would be a crutch, but possibly a bit too tricky for an eight year old to manipulate. Thank you for pointing that out.
My_key, thank you so much for you gentle good wishes. It is crazy making not to be able to jump in and solve all the kid's issues. Especially because this little boy is the sweetest, shyest, dearest elf in the garden (okay, so I'm his grandmother. Still it's true...) I think it does come down to how he would be able to interact with it if it's to be of real value.
So... I've emailed his dad asking if he thinks it would be a plus and pointing out that it would most likely require some close adult supervision to get it launched. So I'm getting the the whole group 45.Gathered. Thinking getting Dad involved created a shift I asked a new question, "Now what would be the grandson's experience?" I got 48. The Well, unchanging, which I see as meaning a great resource but as the hex was unchanging it still points to the possibility the full benefit would not be drawn on.

We shall see....

 

[becalm]

Hi Rosada My first thoughts when reading your original post was it's more your frustrations as not being part of 'the group' Hex 45 in being able to help your grandson and you would like to be more Influential Hex 31 in this situation but as Line 2 states - No direction bears fruit so it would be better to let this idea of the C-Pen go.
I too brought my children up so independently that they all left home at 17 much to the heartbreak of their mum but the upside I now realise is that I gave them great grounding and they're doing amazing at their lives because of me (so they tell me )
In response to your question about the experience of the pen for you grandson - I think he would get a lot out of it initially but for him the 'novelty' or the resource it first brings him eventually runs out and it will be 'left out to dry'.

 

[rosada]

Thanks becalm! I've now let go the idea of just sending them a pen and instead suggested it as an option. Perhaps I'll have an "influence" but I'm no longer feeling I need to ride to the rescue!

Congrats on the happy cats (kids)!

 

[becalm]

Thanks becalm! I've now let go the idea of just sending them a pen and instead suggested it as an option. Perhaps I'll have an "influence" but I'm no longer feeling I need to ride to the rescue!

I know the feeling of wanting to 'rescue' them.....my experience tells me we feel the pain of their 'dilemmas' 10,000 more times than them!!